New Trends Make 10 Gigabit Ethernet the Data-Center Performance Choice

WHITE PAPER | New Trends Make 10 Gigabit Ethernet the Data-Center Performance Choice
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WHY 10 GIGABIT ETHERNET?
WHY NOW?
Since ratification of the first 10 Gigabit Ethernet
(10GbE) standard in 2002, 10GbE usage grew
primarily in niche markets demanding the highest
bandwidth available. This established 10GbE as a
stable, standards-based connectivity technology and
the next evolutionary stage above Gigabit Ethernet
(GbE). However, connectivity needs today extend
beyond just providing a higher-bandwidth pipe.
Several trends will help to drive the adoption of
10GbE, including:
• Theevolutionof10GbEtomeetdata-center
and enterprise demands for efficiently
handling and managing increasingly
bandwidth-hungry applications
• Signicantcost-per-portreduction
• Establishing10GbEasaclearupgradeand
migration path to the high performance
networks of the future
Intel and Arista Networks are two of the companies
that have been working to establish these trends.
With over 25 years in the Ethernet business, Intel is a
leading supplier of Ethernet adapters and controllers.
Intel’s 10GbE server adapters are designed for
multicore servers, optimized for virtualization, and
support unified storage over Ethernet. Intel’s broad
product portfolio includes single- and multi-port
adapters for both fiber and copper networks. Arista,
based in Menlo Park, California, was founded to
deliver scalable networking interconnects for large-
scale data centers and cloud computing. Arista
offers best-of-breed 10 Gigabit Ethernet solutions
for Cloud Networking™ that redefine scalability,
robustness, and price–performance. At the core of
Arista’s platform is the Extensible Operating System
(EOS™), a pioneering new software architecture
with self-healing and live in-service software
upgrade capabilities. Arista’s team is comprised
of seasoned management and engineering talent
bringing over a thousand man-years of expertise
from leading network and server companies.
Certainly, bandwidth and I/O throughput are
important aspects of data-center connectivity needs
today. Beyond that, though, connectivity products
today—whether they are GbE or 10GbE—must
support the performance features of the evolving
data-center technologies. This includes:
•Scalingonmulti-coreprocessor-basedservers
•SupportingtheI/Oarbitrationneedsofmultiple
virtual machines (VMs) in sever consolidation and
virtualization
•Providingeconomical,energy-efcient,high-
performance connectivity for server blades and
high-density computing
•InternetSmallComputerSystemInterface(iSCSI)
support for storage-over-Ethernet applications
Second-generation Intel
®
10 Gigabit Ethernet
products for PCI Express* (PCIe) introduce a variety
of new technologies to support evolving data-
center technologies. For the data center, this means
more energy-efficient, cost-effective delivery of
high-bandwidth capacity for growing application
needs. The attractiveness of 10GbE performance is
further enhanced by the trend toward lower prices
in 10GbE switches, server adapters, and related
infrastructure items. The 2006 ratification of the
10GBase-T standard for 10GbE on Category-6 or
better twisted-pair copper wire should provide
further price reductions for 10GbE capability.
MULTI-CORE PLATFORMS DRIVE
I/O CAPACITY NEEDS
Multi-core processors, starting with the Dual-Core
Intel
®
Xeon
®
processor, are the answer to Moore’s
Law running into the brick wall of physical reality.
Specifically, traditional approaches of increasing
processor performance by moving to higher clock
rates eventually ran into power consumption and
expensive cooling issues. Multi-processor systems
provided an interim solution, and they are still
viable for some applications. However, multi-
core processors have the advantages of a smaller